Garden Clean Up & Winter Prep

Frost bitten pepper plants

Normally by now we have already done the big garden clean up and prepped everything for winter.  But until a week ago our garden was still going strong and the leaves were still on the trees.  Now the leaves are falling to the ground and a couple good frosty mornings have finished off the garden for the year.

The chickies were so helpful in getting the tomato plants pulled.

In anticipation of the coming frost we had already come out and picked all the green tomatoes as well as any peppers that were ready.  Then it was time to get busy and put the garden beds to rest for the winter.

After removing the spent plants and tomato cages we raked up a nice pile of leaves to mulch the beds with.

The yard debris we used in the fire pot to help us stay warm while we worked.

The chickens were really happy to get some yard time with us.  While they roamed I raked out the pen area and fresh bedding went into the nests too while the old stuff went under the roost to collect droppings.

Over the next few weeks we'll continue to tackle the leaves as they fall from the trees and get them loaded into the trash bin each week for pickup.  Hopefully before the snow comes.